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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. PITZ GERALD.

DIE FOR MAKING WATGH CASE STEMS. No. 338,502. Patented Mar. 23, 1886.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. W. H. FITZ GERALD.

DIE FOR. MAKING WATCH GA'SB STEMSL No. 338,602. Patented Man 23, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER H. FITZ GERALD, OF BROOKLYN, NEWV YORK. 7

DIE FOR MAKING WATCH-CASE STEMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,502, dated March 23,1886.

Application filed October 3, 1885. Serial No. 178,932.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. FITZ GER- ALD, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theManufacture of Watch-Case Stems; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the dies employed by me in the construction of Watchcase stems. Fig. 2 is a like view of the plungers used with said dies. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of the dies and a central longitudinal section of the plungers, as combined for operation upon a case-stem. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the stem-blank before being operated upon by said dies and plungers, and Fig. 5 is a like View of the same after such operation.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The design of my invention is to enable watch-case stems to be easily and cheaply constructed from sheet metal; and said invention consists in the construction and combination of the dies and plungers employed, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.

In the carrying of my invention into practice a stem-blank, A, is produced by drawing a disk of sheet metal into the form of an elongated cup with a semi-spherical closed end, and then forming near such end a circumferential groove, a, by means of rollers. The blank thus shaped is placed between two die'blocks, B and B, that are provided witl1- in and across their contiguous faces with halfround coinciding recesses b, which together have the general form of the exterior of the completed stem, and after being closely clamped by and between said dies has its closed end impinged by a round plunger, 0, that loosely fills the recess at such point, and has a cup-shaped inner end, 0, which corre sponds to the desired form that is to be given to the said closed end of said stem. At the instant when the plunger 0 is moved inward toward the stem-blank A, a second plunger,

(No model.)

D, is simultaneously moved inward from the opposite or open end of said blank. The body d of said plunger D has the form ofa cylinder with a pointed end, (1, and its diameter equals the diameter of the axial opening a of the completed stem,while considerably greater than the diameter of said opening within said blank stem.

The plunger 0 operates as an anvil and prevents the closed end of the stein-blank A from moving farther in the direction of said plunger, while the plunger D not only operates to spread said stem-blank laterally to cause it to closely fill the recesses 12, but also carries the metal in the direction of its motion and causes the same to wrinkle at and to closely fill a circumferential groove, Z), that is pro; vided within the said die-recesses b, so as to produce upon the completed stem a bead, a adjacent to the neck a.

The operation described is easily and quickly performed. and the product, while in all respects as perfect as those constructed in the usual manner, possesses far greater strength and durability than could be otherwise obtained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is As an improvement in devices for constructing watch-case stems, in combination with the die-blocks having within and across their contiguous faces coinciding recesses which correspond in shape with the exterior of a casestem, a plunger that has a cup-shaped inner end adapted to engage and give form to the closed end of a stenrblanlgand a plunger that has a cylindrical body and apointed end and is adapted to compress longitudinally and expand laterally the metal of the blank as it is forced into the open end of the blank, sub stantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, this 18th day of September, A. D. 1885.

WALTER H. FITZ GERALD.

Witnesses:

STEDMAN H. HALE, A. M. GROMMELIN. 

